Crocker Farm Parent Guardian Organization: Supporting our children, teachers, and the Crocker Farm community through family events & activities, and through fundraising for field trips, classroom mini-grants, and more.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

The Munson Memorial Library in South Amherst has just acquired one pass to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. This pass is good for four days and is for two adults and two children. You can stop on by the Munson and check it out yourself or you can call 259.3095 to have a hold put on it (although the library cannot reserve it for specific days).

ITD, once again will host the program “Study of the U.S. Institutes for Western Hemisphere Student Leaders” in January/February 2010, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

An important component of the ITD Winter institute is spending a weekend with a local family. The homestay weekend is scheduled for January 29-30 or January 30-31. Students enjoy immensely their interaction with local families. They particularly enjoy sharing their culture with American families and discussing the differences and similarities between the two. Meeting their homestay family is usually one of the highlights of their time here in the US.

This winter’s group will be comprised of students from Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. The students are all English speakers. They are highly motivated university students who have gone through a competitive application process to be selected to be a part of this U.S. State Department sponsored Winter Institute. The students’ fields of study include Business Administration, International Relations, Economics, Education, Law, Communication Studies, Accounting, and Social Work. Many are very active in community projects and social justice activities outside the university and are eager to practice their English.

The overall purpose of the six week exchange program is to provide undergraduate student leaders from Latin America with a deeper understanding of the U.S., while at the same time enhancing their leadership and collective problem-solving skills. The Winter Institute consists of a challenging academic component (led by Prof. Javier Corrales, Political Science, Amherst College), a leadership skills component, community service activities, and a 1½ -week study tour to Tucson, AZ and Washington, D.C.

Please consider hosting one or two student leaders for an overnight. Past experience has shown the weekend exchange to be mutually rewarding for both students and families. In many cases students have stayed in touch with their U.S. host families long after returning to their home countries. If you would like more information about hosting a student or the Winter Institute, please call Kaye Dougan at 413.256.1925 or email at: kaye@itd-amherst.org. This is an excellent opportunity to experience a cross-cultural exchange with great student leaders from Latin America.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

AMHERSTOPOLY: The Elementary School PGO's have sent order forms home to all the Amherst Schools. Please order your Amherstopoly Game by December 18th to receive your copy before school lets out. See attached order form. Or email Tracy Hightower at tracy@waterfieldfarms.net.

AMHERST EDUCATION FOUNDATION: Three Cheers

You can honor a teacher or staff member AND strengthen our schools with a gift to Amherst Education Foundation (AEF). We will deliver a personalized Thank You card to the person you wish to honor during the last week of school in December, and your contribution will be used for grants to schools next year.

Gifts must be received by December 18 to guarantee delivery on December 21. Your gift to AEF will convey an important message of support to our teachers and staff members.

See attached Three Cheers Contribution FormThanks to our many generous donors AEF Amherst Education Foundation, Inc.granted almost $40,000 for projects supporting students this year in areas like:* Restoring after school clubs at ARHS* Professional development at ARMS, Crocker Farm and Wildwood* Library books for Pelham Elementary School* Support for a new enrichment program at Fort River* Math and reading materials at Marks Meadow

Monday, December 14, 2009

Bus Driver Appreciation Day is this Wednesday! We need lots of bakers to donate everything from muffins to desserts to share the love with those faithful drivers who get so many kids to school safely every day. All baked goods should be delivered to school by the end of school on Tuesday. If you have any questions, please contact Lucy at 253-9331. Thanks!

Friday, December 11, 2009

The PGO is looking for baked goods and other treats to show a little love to all the fantastic people who get our kids to school safely every day. If you are interested in contributing something for the goody bags, please leave it in the office by the end of the school day on Tuesday, December 15th so that the bags can be assembled in time for distribution that Wednesday morning. If you are available to help hand out bags Wednesday morning or have any questions, please call Lucy at 253-9331 or Becky at 230-3306. Thanks!

Walk-in H1N1 Flu ClinicSaturday, Dec. 12, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.Wildwood Elementary School 71 Strong Street, AmherstOpen to ages 6 months – 65 while supplies lastChildren under 10 who came to the Nov. 11 clinic at AmherstRegional Middle School can get a second dose now!Three steps to save time:• Download the registration form and vaccineinformation from http://amherstma.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=2840• Photocopy both sides of your insurance card• Bring the completed form, your insurance card andcard copies to the clinicForms and information also available at the doorNo cost to you for vaccination

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Join the PGO this Thursday from 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM in the Community Room for December's meeting. On the agenda are Wednesday Clubs, Bus Driver Appreciation Day, Teacher Gifts, the new playground drive and the all-school MLK Celebration and much, much more. As always, childcare is provided. We hope to see you there!

On Tuesday, December 15th from 12pm to 1pm, the ARMS Family School Partnership is hosting a Coffee with Superintendent Dr. Rodriguez. Topics will include goals for the middle school, the evaluation by the MS consultant, the MS principal search and the MS budget. Dr. Rodriguez will also answer questions and take input from parents/guardians. Everyone is welcome. Hope to see you next Tuesday at noon in the Professional Development Center at the Middle School.

Friday, December 4, 2009

"My name is Kaylene Barschdorf and I am a senior at UMass. I am currently working on a group project to conduct a social campaign. Our group chose the topic of Childhood Obesity and we have created a survey to gather attitudes and information about this significant issue. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated and extremely helpful. This survey is completely confidential and will only be used for the purposes of our study. Thank you very much for your time."